Area residents not fazed by swine flu alert

May 01, 2009|By Marci Singer News-Review Staff Writer

Although the World Health Organization raised the worldwide swine flu pandemic alert to phase 5, the alert hasn't seemed to faze area residents.

The phase 5 alert means that all countries should immediately activate their pandemic preparedness plans. At this stage, effective and essential measures include heightened surveillance, early detection and treatment of cases and infection control in all health facilities. Health officials said events over the next several days or weeks will tell if we are in the early stages of a pandemic.

"Most people think it's a hoax," said Bob Huff, owner of Huff Pharmacy in Boyne City. "I haven't had anyone come in that thinks it's very serious."

Huff said there are more people that die from Tylenol poisoning.

"There's always a problem with Tylenol and some of the other drugs I dispense but those deaths are never reported. So far, I haven't seen anyone that is really worried. I think that's good because we don't want to have the public be afraid of this disease," he said.

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With such a small percentage of people who have swine flu compared to size of the population, Huff said we don't want to start a pandemic.

"When people start worrying about it, it really affects business because people don't want to go out. Thankfully, so far business has been business as usual."

Wes Ostrander, owner of Medicap Pharmacy in Petoskey said he's only had a couple people call to inquire about swine flu, but he hasn't had anyone looking for masks or other over-the-counter aids.

"With all apologies, I think the news coverage is a little overblown," Ostrander said. "The poor swine, they have nothing to do with this flu at all. Swine is getting a bad name. Usually these things are named after the place of origin, so I don't know why this isn't called the Mexico City flu."

Ostrander said if he saw 64 cases counted today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, then 64,000 tomorrow and 640,000 the next day, it would be then that he'd think about going out to get a mask.

"Right now, I'm not too excited. If people have questions, I recommend they visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site."

Dr. John Bednar, a physician in emergency services at Northern Michigan Regional Hospital in Petoskey said while there has been an increase in the number of people requesting to be tested, he's not concerned about a swine flu pandemic.

"Obviously, people are worried but there are a number of strains of the flu," Bednar said, adding that unless you have traveled or been in direct contact with someone with swine flu, you should be aware of the precautions but not panicked.

In the meantime, on Wednesday, the Health Department of Northwest Michigan issued an advisory stating that schools and childcare facilities in unaffected areas should begin to prepare for the possibility of school dismissal or childcare facility closure.

"This includes asking teachers, parents and officials in charge of critical school-associated programs such as meal services to make contingency plans," said public information officer, Jane Sundmacher.

All updates to provide Michigan residents with accurate and timely information on the human outbreak of Influenza A (H1N1), as well as updates on the state's actions to protect residents, are available at www.michigan.gov/swineflu.